


Masked

by fangirlflail



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 3wmerthur, Birthday Party, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Curses, Dark Magic, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, Short, a day in the life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-31
Updated: 2012-03-31
Packaged: 2017-11-02 19:49:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/372725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlflail/pseuds/fangirlflail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>canon!verse. It’s Morgana’s masked birthday ball. A sorceress infiltrates Camelot and casts a love curse on Arthur. Things don’t go according to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Masked

**Author's Note:**

> 3/31/12 - short piece for 3wmerthur competition --> fy-merlinxarthur.tumblr.com  
> 5/7/12 - results are in!!! Tied for 2nd place! Hooray!!! Thank you everyone who voted for me. :) I will bake a mountain of cupcakes!!!  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Camelot‘s main square was flooded with Courtiers wearing outlandish masks and voluminous outfits. It was a wonder Merlin could thread through the crowd at all with his arms full of banners. He ducked under a large bat wing and dodged an angel but tripped into a woman wearing a royal blue frock. Her mask, half white and half blue with stars painted in gold, slipped from her fingers and landed on the stone.

“I am so sorry!” Merlin bent over at the waist to retrieve the cracked mask. It was difficult with the bulky decorations in hand. Meeting the woman eye-to-eye Merlin faltered; she was beyond beautiful with a shy smile and eyes that paralyzed him. He handed over the mask with a goofy grin and received a painful shock when their fingers touched.

A vision of Arthur rose in his thoughts and Merlin felt as if this woman was viewing his mind—following it like a map. He did his best to pretend as though nothing had happened. 

When the woman thanked him, Merlin blushed, mumbling something about enjoying the party before escaping through a nearby servant’s entrance.

In the shadow he took a short moment to breathe. He had felt magic, he was sure of it, but what was a sorceress doing in Camelot?

—

Merlin spent the better part of that afternoon helping Arthur prepare for the festivities, which translated to playing Princely dress-up.

“Looking forward to it?” Merlin threw a black cloak around his charge’s shoulders. Arthur had chosen to dress as the Black Knight. The majority of the outfit was complete: knee-high leather boots, thick trousers hidden beneath a long tunic, a chain-link belt three fingers wide and rough gauntlets.

The prince snorted. “If you mean looking forward to terrifying the masses, certainly!”

“Not fond of parties then?”

“Not ones in which my father drags me about meeting every last eligible woman in all of Albion.”

Merlin finished clasping the cloak under a hammered shoulder plate. His eyebrows pulled tightly together as his fingers worked the final tie. When he finished he looked up with a short smile, “Thought you liked that sort of attention.”

Arthur’s haughty annoyance turned into a scowl as he met Merlin‘s gaze in the mirror. “Meeting suitable women never seems to go well.”

—

The sounds of eating, dancing, and laughter filled the dining hall. Arthur was avoiding his father by weaving through the packed room. He checked over his shoulder while turning a column and bumped into a woman. He noticed that her mask was cracked. Arthur made to apologize when she curtsied and drew herself close to him ensuring he could hear her above the noise, “Black Knight, may I look upon your face?” 

The woman removed her mask, she was lovely, and Arthur withdrew his helmet, immediately grinning. Before he could speak, she leaned up and planted a wild kiss on his lips. As he sputtered the woman turned and dashed through the crowd.

“My lady!” Arthur called, jogging to catch the beauty. He heard her tinkling laughter echo down the hallway and saw her shadow slink around the corner. Arthur turned a bend in the corridor near his chambers and was surprised when he felt small hands snag his tunic. They pulled him into the nearby room. The door shut and locked behind them.

“My Prince,” her voice purred. It was laced with wicked power. Arthur looked down into her eyes and felt himself grow unexpectedly calm. Her hand on his chest pushed him toward the bed and even in his costume he felt light. He opened his mouth but was brought up short of speech by her warm lips on his. The kiss tingled with unspoken words, bewitching his mind.  “Look into my eyes, Arthur Pendragon, _túce hwón frec ðu. Þec feoh nom gyse. Cume morðor rice ær._ Close them now and when you open them next, you will be mine.”

—

Merlin could sense sorcery.

He’d misplaced Arthur almost immediately in the throngs of banquet-goers.

Following the magic’s pull, his increasingly frantic search led him to the prince’s bedroom door. Naturally, he thought.

Merlin gripped the handle, and when the door wouldn’t budge the wizard took a step back and willed it open. The door obeyed. 

Arthur‘s red-ringed eyes caught his before the prince crumpled to the floor.

Off the sensation of her magic alone Merlin recognized the room’s other occupant as the woman from the square. She snarled at him, lips upturned, and a spark of dark magic glinted fiercely in her slotted eyes. Before she could utter a sound against him, Merlin threw his left hand forward.

“ _Wáce ierlic!_ ”

The sorceress flew across the room and landed with her back to the stone wall.

Merlin exhaled.

He ran over to Arthur’s body and knelt beside him.

“Merlin?” The prince’s eyes fluttered open seemingly normal again. He looked unharmed.

“Thank goodness,” Merlin sighed. He curled a hand under Arthur’s neck to pull him into a sitting position but was taken aback when he felt Arthur’s strong arms embrace him.

The prince buried his face into Merlin’s neck and breathed, “Merlin…”

Suddenly rough hands moved in unison, pushing Merlin backward onto the cold floor. A burning sensation raced down his spine and exploded in the pit of his stomach as he felt Arthur’s lips meet his. He seized the man’s shoulders to brace himself against the onslaught of desire.

Merlin had never been great at reading people, but even he sensed this was out of character for the prince. This was not happening. Lip and hip locked, Merlin fought harder against himself than Arthur.

“Something’s not right. We’ve got to get you to Gaius,” Merlin gasped. He dragged Arthur to his feet and headed for the door.

—

Gaius hauled down another book and set it on the table with a thud. Moments earlier the boy had thrown himself into the room, breathless with Prince Arthur in tow. After a quick explanation regarding a sorceress and curse, Gaius and Merlin had set to work researching.

“There are hundreds of love spells,” Gaius continued shuffling through the pages of the tome he had just delivered.

“We have to try! Just look at him…”

The physician turned his gaze to Arthur who sat tethered to the workbench cross from them humming merrily and eyeing Merlin with a “come hither” gleam. He had been watching the two of them, running a hand through his hair every time Merlin looked up.

Gaius shook his head sighing deeply.

—

The second day was as trying for Merlin as the first, though there was the bonus of watching Arthur trip and fall into the punch bowl as he went to fetch drinks for himself and Merlin. No one seemed to notice the prince attending his servant. He suspected it helped that everyone remained in costume.

“Sire, a change of clothes, perhaps?” Merlin asked, approaching the drenched knight. Arthur nodded and the two walked in silence to the bedchamber.

Once inside Merlin headed straight for the wardrobe and began pulling out clean clothes. “I hope you don’t mind being out of costume for the rest of the party. I didn’t think to have another one handy so you’ll just have to be Arthur the rest of the time.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” The voice came from right behind him. Merlin turned around slowly with the pile of clothes in his hands. He bit his lip and steeled himself for what he knew was coming.

Arthur stood behind him, shirtless and smirking.

In a second the prince had him pinned against the armoire and was kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Clothing dropped from Merlin’s hands. Arthur’s hips pressed him back.

“Arthur!” Merlin huffed when the man finally removed his mouth and tongue. Merlin saw a glint of red wreath Arthur’s eyes. “No. You’re not-” He struggled to shove the man off but his own body would not comply. He ground his hips back into Arthur who made a noise of approval and bit a trail down Merlin’s neck.

Merlin wanted Arthur even now.

He knew it wasn’t smart, knew it was the kind of dangerous manipulative magic that advanced Uther’s campaign and made Merlin fear his own kind. But-

Merlin moaned as Arthur’s tongue traced his ear and nipped. Really, Merlin reasoned, the sorceress and her dangerous curse had been thwarted. Merlin would never hurt Arthur. Maybe this was the act meant to solidify their shared destiny?

Merlin’s hands had somehow ended up in Arthur’s hair, his fingers massaging Arthur’s neck.

He wanted to believe that in the end they would— _this_ would be _right_.

They were inevitable.

As Arthur slid his hand down Merlin’s side and into his trousers they locked eyes once more. Merlin inhaled, enjoying this moment.

—

Merlin woke the next morning, sore but feeling optimistic about the final day of celebration. He had nearly forgotten about the curse until he realized where he was: Arthur’s bed with Arthur asleep beside him. Merlin nearly fell out from under the covers. He sobered quickly, slid carefully out and retrieved his clothing. He threw them on and slipped out of the prince’s chambers.

—

That afternoon Merlin sat with Gaius at his cluttered workbench. Merlin had avoided Arthur and his duties, sulking with his chin resting on a stack of books. He thought about what finding the remedy would mean. The real Arthur Pendragon would return: the one who wielded arrogant barbs, issued impatient commands, and treated Merlin like a simpleton. Merlin began to wonder whether or not he wanted that Arthur back at all when Gaius poked a finger down on the book in his hands, set it on the table and spun it to face Merlin.

“ _True Love’s Kiss_ ,” Merlin recited before processing the words. His eyes widened and shot up to meet the man’s gaze. “ _The remedy lies in the eye of the beholder, shut in sleep to the one who would free them._ You mean since Arthur…”

Gaius nodded, rummaging on top of the table. He found an empty ampoule and handed it to Merlin. “I have a plan. Arthur won’t remember much of anything, so this will be exactly like when he tried to elope with Sophia. When Arthur comes ‘round you’ll have to have a believable story.”

“No way am I-” Merlin started to argue but swallowed his words. His legs twisted under the table and his hands twitched. Without meeting Gaius’ gaze, he mumbled, “We’ve already kissed.”

The physician didn‘t even pause. “The sorceress bewitched Arthur to fall in love with the first person he saw. This cure requires two conditions. First, Arthur must be asleep. Second, he must truly be in love.”

Merlin made a noise like a horse whinnying. Arthur love him? But as his eyes met Gaius’ knowing gaze, Merlin’s fragile pretense faltered.

—

Merlin dedicated his evening to forcing mead into Arthur. When twilight lifted into dawn, he dragged the prince’s drunken body into his bedroom. The door closing behind them sounded louder than normal.

Merlin relished the support from the door and could’ve fallen asleep there had it not been for the man leaning against him. He stumbled toward the bed and set Arthur down on the blankets. After Arthur was settled, Merlin moved to the basin of water on the bedside table and retrieved the cloth in it. With his other hand he removed the empty potion bottle from his pocket. Armed with the damp cloth and prop from Gaius, he stood by the bedside gazing down at the prince.

This had better work.

Merlin took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled, memorizing Arthur’s peaceful form. 

He leaned over and kissed him softly.

The effect was swift. A flush of warmth spread from Arthur’s face to his extremities and he stirred, blinking the residual curse from his eyes. Arthur sluggishly brought his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose as his face contorted with a groan. His unspoken question was obvious to Merlin.

“Had a bit too much to drink at Morgana’s party,” Merlin explained, moving the cool cloth over Arthur’s forehead. “You’ll be fine now. Gaius made you a pick-me-up.”

He wiggled the empty bottle he had pretended to administer.

Arthur eyed it and rolled away to stuff his face into the pillow. “You’ve got to be joking. Tell me I didn’t do anything stupid.”

Merlin stood up and set the towel next to the washing bowl by Arthur’s bedside. He stared at the dish in silence for so long that the prince twisted back. “Did I?”

Looking down at Arthur, Merlin gave him a nervous smile and shook his head.

“No. Nothing!” he blurted, tucking his scarf tighter around his neck. Merlin headed toward the door. “You need rest. Goodnight, Arthur.”

“Merlin!”

He turned around, hands on his hips. The prince sat up.

“What happened?” Arthur demanded. The question left as he felt the sore muscles in his thighs burn.

Looking directly at his eyes, Merlin stated, “You-”-his eyebrows arched-“-need-”-his gaze darted down Arthur’s body-“- _rest_.”

And with a flippant grin, Merlin spun on his heels, closing the door behind him.


End file.
